Saturday, January 12, 2013

Cabled Hearts Hat Pattern

This started as sort of an improvisation in yarn. About 2 inches in, I was wondering what to do with the wandering cables, and Kali at my knitting group said, "How about hearts?" And when I finished, she asked for the pattern. So here it is.:

Yarn- worsted weight,

Needles- size 8 or size to make
hat of desired size.

Cast on 96 stitches using cabled
cast on (or very loose long-tailed cast on) on circular needles or
double pointed needles. Join, being careful not to twist.

Ribbing:
[K1 tbl, P1] repeat until ribbing measures 1 1/2 inches.

Set up round: [K4, P8] repeat
until end of round.

Abbreviations:

C4F- Cable Four Front: put next two
stitches on a cable needle and hold to front of work, knit two
stitches off left needle, knit the two stitches off the cable needle.

C2L- Cross Two Left: put the next
two stitches on a cable needle and hold to front of work, purl one
stitch off left needle, knit two stitches off cable needle.

C2R- Cross Two Right: put the next
stitch on a cable needle and hold to back of work, knit next two
stitches off left needle, purl one stitch off cable needle.

Top
Loop- *Slip next two stitches to right needle, pass first slipped
stitch over second slipped stitch and off needle, pass remaining
slipped stitch on right needle back to left needle. Slip second
stitch on left needle over the first stitch and off left needle.
Repeat from *. The two sides of the cable loop will now meet. Pick
up and purl two stitches from the back of the cable. Then purl one
stitch. You will now have a closed cable loop with three purl
stitches crossing the top. (Note that on the chart, the first two stitches that disappear have been shifted over as the third stitch winds up in the cable twist above the heart.)

T2F- Twist Two Front: put the next
stitch on a cable needle and hold to front of work, knit next stitch
through back on left needle, knit stitch off cable needle.

C2-4TW – Cable Two-Four Twist:
Slip two stitches on a cable needle and hold to front of work, knit
2. Slip left stitch on the cable needle back onto the left needle,
and knit it. Slip the remaining stitch from the cable needle onto the
left needle and knit it.

Pattern Instructions:

Rnd 1: [C4F, P8] repeat [] until end
of round.

Rnd 2: [K4, P8]

Rnd 3: [K4,P7, C2R,C2L, P7]

Rnd 4: [K4, P7, K2, P2, K2, P7]

Rnd 5: [K4, P6, C2R, P2, C2L, P6]

Rnd 6: [K4, P6, K2, P4, K2, P6]

Rnd 7: [C4F, P5, C2R, P4, C2L, P5 ]

Rnd 8: [K4, P5, K2, P6, K2, P5]

Rnd 9: [K4, P4, C2R, P6, C2L, P4]

Rnd 10: [K4, P4, K2, P8, K2, P4]

Rnd 11: [K4, P3, C2R, P2, C4F, P2,
C2L, P3]

Rnd 12: [K4, P3, K2, P3, K4, P3, K2,
P3]

Rnd 13: [C4F, P3, K2, P2, C2R, C2L,
P2, K2, P3]

Rnd 14: [K4, P3, C2L, P1, K2, P2, K2,
P1, C2R, P3]

Rnd 15: [K4, P4, Top Loop, P2, Top
Loop, P4]

Note, you will lose 2 stitches for each
top loop in Round 15; 4 per pattern repetition, 16 total. The
pattern will continue on 80 stitches total.

* The K4 is the cable, so substitute a
cable twist (C4F) for the K4 every sixth round as it occurs in
pattern. When you reach row 11 of the decrease rounds, stop cabling.

Rnd 1: [K4*, P2 tog, P4]

Rnd 2: [K4, P5]

Rnd 3: [K4, P2 tog, P3]

Rnd 4: [K4, P4]

Rnd 5: [K4, P2 tog, P2]

Rnd 6: [K4, P3]

Rnd 7: [K4, P2 tog, P1]

Rnd 8: [K4, P2]

Rnd 9: [K4, P2 tog]

Rnd 10: [K4, P1]

Rnd 11: [K3, K2 tog]

Rnd 12: Knit whole round

Rnd 13: [K2, K2 tog]

Rnd 14: [Knit whole round]

Rnd 15: [K2 tog]

Twelve stitches remain. Put six on
each needle and graft closed.

Alternately, you can break the yarn,
draw it through the loops, pull it tight, and run it through the
loops a second time (for security). Weave all ends.

*Note: Thanks enormously to Kali for test knitting this. Any remaining errors or omissions are entirely my fault. If you discover any other errata or have any questions, just let me know. Thank you! (edited 9/13/2006)

You're supposed to have fewer stitches after the round with the top of the heart. You decrease 4 stitches total over the top loop (passing slipped stitches over one another). You wind up with a closed loop, but if you just knit across it, you'd lose 4 stitches for every pattern repeat and have a big hole at the top of the heart. So you pick up and purl two stitches across the top of the heart. That means you are reducing only two stitches at the top of each heart (see the note after round 15) and proceed as written. Despite the reduced stitch count, the circumference of the hat stays more or less the same because the heart pattern pulls in due to the cabling.